Katie's Fundraising Page

2017 started out like any other year, however 5 days in everything changed. I received a call from my Mom saying that my lovely Grandad had been admitted to hospital, suspecting Bowel Cancer. My Mom and Aunts had been taking him to the doctors for the previous few years with weight loss and lack of appetite (now if you knew my Grandad, that was a very strange thing indeed). Grandad was rushed into surgery and things began to look up, however by the time I got to see him for the first time in hospital (Friday 13th January) things weren't looking so good. He was rushed into surgery again on the Sunday with most of the family surrounding him at the hospital to send our love. He also had the added complication that the cancer was much worse than we thought and had spread, as well as a chest infection that manifested into Pneumonia. After that he was in ITU at Heartlands Hospital in Birmingham, constantly surrounded by his family. There was someone there all the time with him and he even managed to get in a few tellings off along the way in true Grandad style! He passed peacefully, after a very dignified fight with this disease, in the early hours of 1st February. Nothing has been the same since. We have lost the head of the family, the person that would always have something to talk to you about, our horse racing mad Grandad. He has left behind a huge hole in this massive family with Christmas Dinners and Family parties that will never be the same again. We are struggling to come to terms with what happened with Grandad, although at the time it seemed like the longest month in existence, it was such a short amount of time that we went from being a family to having such a massive hole in it. I want there to be more research so that cancer is acknowledged sooner and more is done to treat this awful disease. Even though my family tried to get attention from doctors, the only time the doctors realised what my Grandad had was too late for us as a family. He had multiple blood tests at the doctors yet this was not enough for him, he needed to be referred, yet when he was it was too late. More research and awareness of the disease has to be made, so less families go through the heartbreak that my family has had since the start of the New Year. ------------- Cancer is happening right now, which is why I'm taking part in a Race for Life 5k to raise money and save lives. 1 in 2 people will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime. Every single pound you donate makes a difference to Cancer Research UK’s groundbreaking work, so please sponsor me now. Donating through this page is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with Cancer Research UK.